Strollers are a popular option for parents to transport young children. So called “jogging strollers” were developed as a way for parents to go for a jog and take their young children. Jogging strollers may also be used in the same manner as a conventional stroller to transport children in a shopping center, etc. One significant drawback of conventional jogging strollers is that they have three fixedly mounted wheels and there is no way to steer the stroller. As such, while walking, jogging or running, it is difficult to turn the stroller. Often a parent has to pivot the front wheel off of the ground by pressing down on handles at the rear of the stroller in order to steer the stroller. Steering difficulty is exaggerated for heavier children and in double jogging strollers, i.e., those adapted to carry two children.
Some jogging strollers are available with a front caster wheel, such as on a typical grocery store shopping cart, only larger. However, popular literature counsels against use of these strollers for actual jogging as the caster wheel is unstable. These strollers are more adapted for use as a substitute for a conventional stroller or perhaps for taking a casual walk. For jogging or running, some models provide for locking the caster wheel so that it is prohibited from swiveling. There does not appear to be any way to actively stably steer the stroller by controlling the castor wheel.
Conventional jogging strollers typically may be purchased as single strollers, i.e., those having only a single seat, double strollers, i.e., those having two seats, and even triple strollers, i.e., those having three seats. This is not a know provision, however, to convert the strollers between seating configurations, Thus, parents have to purchase different types of strollers in order to transport different numbers of children.
Conventional jogging strollers, however, are not typically suited for either active steering. Further, conventional jogging strollers are not typically convertible between various seat configurations, e.g., there is no provision to substitute a single seat arrangement for a double seat arrangement. It is with these various issues in mind that various aspects of the implementations of the invention were developed.